It's better if you don't understand; just listen and have a good time. That's the response Bruno Mars will give you with a smile when asked to describe his sound and music. He would much rather sing, perform, and write his songs than talk about them, but that is becoming more and more unavoidable these days. It might seem that Mars appeared out of nowhere, co-writing, producing and performing on B.o.B's #1 "Nothin' On You" followed by Travie McCoy's chart-climbing "Billionaire", but he makes one thing clear: "It's not an overnight success".

Mars is a multitalented singer, songwriter, producer and musician who feels most at home when he's performing. Born to a musical family in Honolulu, Hawaii, he was practically raised on the stage. His father, a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, organized a Vegas-style revue that featured the entire family, including his mother, a talented vocalist. When a four-year-old Mars observed his family performing Motown hits, doo-wop medleys and impersonations for enthusiastic crowds all over his native Waikiki Beach, "I was jealous!" says Mars with a laugh. "My dad put me on stage and I remember singing an Elvis song and that was it. Ever since that moment, I've been addicted."

Rich in diverse music from all over the globe, Honolulu was an exciting hometown for the budding singer/songwriter. On one end of the spectrum, his home was filled with the 1950s classics that were his father's passion. Meanwhile, the city is rich in traditional sounds, including reggae, rock and folk music, as well as the latest pop hits. "Hawaii is basically in the middle of the world, so you're exposed to every type of music over there," explains Mars.

As soon as he graduated high school, Mars left Hawaii for Los Angeles with dreams of launching his career as a performer. Those dreams got put on hold, however, when The Smeezingtons, the songwriting/production team he founded with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, suddenly took off. The pair has crafted major hits for a diverse roster of talent, including Flo Rida's "Right Round", Travie McCoy's "Billionaire", Brandy's "Long Distance" and K'Naan's "Waving Flags", which is the theme song for the upcoming World Cup.

Mars describes his time behind the scenes as important to his development as an artist. "I realized that you have to go into this industry as an artist with a clear vision and understanding of who you are. Being so young when I was first signed, I never really had a sense of who I wanted to be. Now things are really working out because everything that I'm singing, writing and composing is really me."

On the heels of "Nothin' on You" and "Billionaire" and as a preview of what's to come from Bruno Mars, Elektra Records is releasing a 4-song EP aptly titled "It's Better If You Don't Understand". The title is taken from a lyric to "The Other Side"; one of the songs included that features Cee-Lo Green and re-teams Mars with B.o.B. The song depicts the musician's current routine. "It's basically a story of the lifestyle you end up living as an artist and how I would describe it to a girl I just met to try and explain, but in the end… It's better if you don't understand."

When asked to describe the music he's about to release Mars says "it's hard to put myself in a box. I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm going to be singing the s— out of them." The collection of songs on the EP are written from various real-life experiences, where Mars blends his buoyant voice with purposefully simple production. All of the songs are produced and written with his Smeezingtons partner Philip Lawrence.

Although he's incredibly proud of the recordings, Mars feels the best way to experience the sound is to see him perform live with his band. "That is what I'm most excited for – taking these songs and traveling them around the world." The only place he would rather be than in the recording studio, is with his band on stage – where he grew up. "I think people are really going to gravitate towards the live show. We turn it into a party."

1985–2008: Early life and beginnings
Peter Hernandez was born and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii by parents Pete and Bernadette "Bernie" Hernandez, of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent.At the age of two he was nicknamed 'Bruno' by his father, because he was a chubby baby and because there was a famous chubby wrestler at the time called Bruno Sammartino.Hernandez was one of six children and came from a musical family giving him a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B. From a young age, he was impersonating and performing songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.
In 1990, Hernandez was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992. "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan," he stated.In 2010 he said, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments. My uncle's an incredible guitar player, my dad's an incredible percussionist, my brother's a great drummer, he actually plays in our band. I've just been surrounded by it."He attended President Theodore Roosevelt High School, graduating in 2003 at the age of seventeen, and shortly after moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career.
Hernandez first met his future A&R at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck, in 2006 when introduced by songwriting partner Philip Lawrence. After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately but it took a long time for him to convince his label employers. In the meantime Bay-Schuck used Hernandez - along with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine - as a hired songwriter and producer for the label's artists. According to the A&R executive in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had made it clear from the beginning that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist he was willing to write and produce, both to attract recognition for his talents and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.

1.HaPpY_SmIiLe
2.Cash
3.Bonnifatska
4.geezY
5. Michaell